Wiki Women Edit-A-Thon

the problem

Only about 15.5% of all Wikipedia articles are about women, and many of these articles are significantly shorter and less informative than that of their male counterparts. Some of the articles written about women are even considered sexist because nearly 1/3 of the words in a women’s Wikipedia article have something to do with her gender, relationship, or family. This disparity is harmful because it is not representative of reality, and it contributes to a lack of information about influential women.

the solution

My peers and I in DAAP I held a Wiki Women Edit-A-Thon as an attempt to repair the gender imbalance on the Internet. For four hours we edited Wikipedia articles of women in creative fields based on books and scholarly articles and added over 4,000 words to Wikipedia. I independently created all of our marketing materials and identity, and contributed significantly to the planning and running of the event. We are gearing up to host our second Wiki Women Edit-A-Thon this June and are grateful for our sponsors: UC Women’s Center, Kaleidoscope, Design Impact, Jack Rouse Associates, and Madison Design.